Caution, Not Flash, as Romney Seeks His No. 2

Mitt Romney, left met with campaign aides, including Beth Myers, at his vacation home in New Hampshire this month.Credit
Charles Dharapak/Associated Press

WOLFEBORO, N.H. — Aides to Mitt Romney have pored over video footage of potential running mates, studying hundreds of hours of Sunday news show appearances, campaign debates and stump speeches for insight into how they handle unwelcome inquiries, even hecklers.

They have instructed possible No. 2’s to fill out a questionnaire with about 80 detailed and sometimes intrusive questions covering the financial and the personal, including, “Have you ever been unfaithful?”

And they have listened for political intangibles that are subjective but potent, like: is a candidate’s style of speaking inviting or grating?

The Romney campaign has cloaked its vetting of possible vice-presidential nominees in layers of secrecy, so much so that it is even considering using a decoy — two sets of planes, two rollout locations, for example — to try to keep the selection from leaking out.

But as Mr. Romney prepares to unveil his pick, interviews with those inside and outside the campaign offer a glimpse into the scope and depth of the three-month process and the intense lobbying that he has faced from donors, operatives and elected officials trying to influence his choice. (Karl Rove, Jeb Bush and Senator Mitch McConnell, for example, have talked up Senator Marco Rubio.)

Mr. Romney’s possible running mates, who have handed over reams of documents to the campaign, have probably opened themselves to a greater level of scrutiny than the candidate himself, especially on the thorny question of taxes. Mr. Romney has said he will disclose federal tax returns covering two years by Election Day, far fewer than the 23 years’ worth that he handed over to Senator John McCain as a possible vice-presidential pick in 2008.

With their leave-no-document-unturned thoroughness, advisers to the candidate readily acknowledge that he has conducted a search specifically designed to avoid the kind of rushed and risky selection of Sarah Palin that ultimately bedeviled Mr. McCain four years ago, a choice that startled Mr. Romney as much as anyone.

Photo

John McCain with Gov. Sarah Palin at his concession speech in 2008.Credit
Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Friends and advisers say that after assessing basic qualifications and personal chemistry, Mr. Romney has been guided by a simple principle: do no harm to the ticket.

Mr. Romney could disclose his pick as early as this week or after returning from a trip abroad the first week of August, according to those close to him.

The campaign has already started sketching out the stagecraft of a vice-presidential debut. A longtime Republican operative, Randy Bumps, who served as a chief strategist for the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the 2010 midterm elections, has relocated to Boston to oversee the introduction, people familiar with the move said. And a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee, Kevin Sheridan, will become the communications director for the person selected.

Aides have begun discussing how to deploy Mr. Romney’s running mate on the trail and at fund-raisers. Campaign officials envision having the candidate headline a combination of $30,000-per-couple dinners in big cities and smaller events in second-tier locations, to gauge which proves more lucrative.

Those who spoke about the vetting and rollout did so on the condition of anonymity, citing orders. The campaign declined to comment.

For the potential running mates, the vetting process began with a telephone call from Mr. Romney, followed shortly thereafter by another from Beth Myers, a longtime Romney confidante who is overseeing the search. The candidates filled out a form authorizing the release of financial documents and background information. A team of lawyers is responsible for assessing each prospective candidate.

Many hands are involved, but the research is done by separate teams, so that only Ms. Myers and Mr. Romney have access to the full picture at all times.

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Senators John Edwards and John Kerry at the Democratic Convention in 2004. The Romney campaign has looked for lessons in past vice-presidential selection processes.Credit
Richard Perry/The New York Times

Mr. Romney has taken a hands-on role. He checks in with Ms. Myers roughly every other day to discuss his thinking. And the candidate, a Harvard-trained lawyer, reviews some of the background information himself.

At the end of every day, confidential materials (tax returns, investment records and real estate documents) are returned to a vault at the Romney campaign headquarters in Boston.

The campaign’s questionnaire delves deeply into the personal and professional lives of the potential candidate, his or her spouse, any previous spouses and immediate family members.

The initial round of paperwork is followed by interviews with campaign lawyers, some of them in face-to-face sessions.

Aides emphasize that, despite their meticulousness, they have been open-minded on the selections. Mr. Romney has decided he can deal with a problematic Congressional vote or state policy — something significantly to the left or right of Mr. Romney’s positions, for instance — as long as it occurred sufficiently long ago.

Ms. Myers has sought advice from previous campaigns, including from aides who worked for Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts when he ran in 2004, who warned against picking a candidate with unchecked ambitions. (Mr. Kerry’s selection, John Edwards, made little secret of his designs for the White House.)

Determined to avoid the frustrations and tensions of the past, Mr. Romney’s team is taking steps to ensure that the eventual running mate — and his or her staff — functions as a true extension of the campaign, not as an autonomous political operation.

Video

TimesCast: V.P. Speculation

Ashley Parker of The Times discusses the behind the scenes of the Romney campaign's vice-presidential vetting process.

In conversations with donors, supporters and even campaign staff members, a likely shortlist has emerged. Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and Senator Rob Portman of Ohio are described as the two front-runners, and Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin are called dark-horse choices. Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, is considered a less likely possibility, though Mr. Romney’s wife, Ann, is said to have expressed admiration for her.

Mr. Romney and his wife and some of their children have spent one-on-one time with the prospects, highlighting the crucial role of personal comfort in the decision, advisers said.

“It’s a close second to preparation for him,” said Anthony Scaramucci, a donor who is not involved in the vetting but is close to Mr. Romney. “The governor needs somebody he likes.”

Behind the scenes, there has been plenty of unofficial lobbying, even at this late date. Senator Rubio, of Florida, has emerged as a favorite of many donors who have recommended him to the campaign as an exciting, surprise pick, but he is now considered a long shot.

A personal connection to the candidate, people close to the campaign said, is likely to be pivotal. Mr. Pawlenty and Mr. Romney served as governors together. In 2008, both men ended up on Mr. McCain’s vice-presidential shortlist: Mr. Pawlenty expected Mr. Romney would get the nod, while Mr. Romney thought the job would go to Mr. Pawlenty. They bonded when the spot went to Ms. Palin.

After Mr. Pawlenty dropped out of the 2012 presidential race, the Romney team helped him retire his more than $400,000 campaign debt. Mr. Pawlenty, 51, has spent months crisscrossing the country on behalf of Mr. Romney.

Mr. Portman, 56, meanwhile, has connections to many of Mr. Romney’s close aides.

Mr. Romney has offered a broad outline of the qualities he is looking for, including: being able to step into the job on Day 1; being able to survive the initial introduction without any embarrassments; and being someone he considers a friend.

In a recent interview with CBS News, his wife offered a slightly deeper insight into their thinking.

“I think it’s going to take someone else that’s going to be there with Mitt,” she said, “with the same personality type that, that will enjoy spending time with them and also competent, capable and willing to serve this country.”

Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on July 18, 2012, on page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: Seeking No. 2., Romney Campaign Puts Caution Over Flash. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe